Another NECEC, but Maine Ratepayers Will Pay Millions This Time
"The goal of the RFP is to upgrade the transmission system between northern Maine, where land-based wind generation is expected to increase, and more populous regions of southern New England, where demand for electricity is highest." ISO-NE November 21,2025
This Transmission Line is to deliver 1200 megawatts of intermittent wind from Northern Maine to Massachusetts and other Southern New England States and Maine ratepayers will be paying this time, unlike NECEC.
November 21, 2025
"ISO-NE releases summary of proposals submitted under longer-term transmission planning effort"
ISO New England has released summaries of the six proposals received as part of the longer-term transmission planning effort initiated by the New England States Committee on Electricity (NESCOE). At the direction of NESCOE, the ISO issued the request for proposals (RFP) in March, and proposals were due by Sept. 30.
The goal of the RFP is to upgrade the transmission system between northern Maine, where land-based wind generation is expected to increase, and more populous regions of southern New England, where demand for electricity is highest.
Six proposals were submitted in total, by four lead qualified transmission project sponsors. Three proposals focus primarily on alternating current transmission, and three primarily on high-voltage direct current transmission. All proposals claim to meet the targets for increased transfers from Maine to southern New England and support the interconnection to the regional transmission system of 1,200 megawatts of new generation in northern Maine. In line with RFP requirements, all project sponsors will be kept confidential through the selection process. Each proposal provides estimated costs and outlines a strategy for cost containment if expenses exceed estimates.
The proposal submissions are the latest phase of a process that began in 2020 with NESCOE’s New England States’ Vision for a Clean, Affordable, and Reliable 21st Century Regional Electric Grid, which called on the ISO to incorporate a longer-term transmission planning process in its system planning efforts. The first phase created the longer-term transmission study process, which helped initiate the ISO’s landmark 2050 Transmission Study. This pioneering study outlined transmission needs and potential upgrade roadmaps — and their associated costs — designed to support reliability through the clean energy transition. The RFP seeks to address needs, identified by NESCOE, that relate to findings from this study.
The ISO will assess proposals based on various factors, including cost versus benefit to the region and additional evaluation priorities identified by NESCOE. The ISO will provide updates on the process, as appropriate, through the Planning Advisory Committee, and a preferred solution may be identified by September 2026.
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Maine as Third World Country:
CMP Transmission Rate Skyrockets 19.6% Due to Wind Power
Click here to read how the Maine ratepayer has been sold down the river by the Angus King cabal.
Maine Center For Public Interest Reporting – Three Part Series: A CRITICAL LOOK AT MAINE’S WIND ACT
******** IF LINKS BELOW DON'T WORK, GOOGLE THEM*********
(excerpts) From Part 1 – On Maine’s Wind Law “Once the committee passed the wind energy bill on to the full House and Senate, lawmakers there didn’t even debate it. They passed it unanimously and with no discussion. House Majority Leader Hannah Pingree, a Democrat from North Haven, says legislators probably didn’t know how many turbines would be constructed in Maine if the law’s goals were met." . – Maine Center for Public Interest Reporting, August 2010 https://www.pinetreewatchdog.org/wind-power-bandwagon-hits-bumps-in-the-road-3/From Part 2 – On Wind and Oil Yet using wind energy doesn’t lower dependence on imported foreign oil. That’s because the majority of imported oil in Maine is used for heating and transportation. And switching our dependence from foreign oil to Maine-produced electricity isn’t likely to happen very soon, says Bartlett. “Right now, people can’t switch to electric cars and heating – if they did, we’d be in trouble.” So was one of the fundamental premises of the task force false, or at least misleading?" https://www.pinetreewatchdog.org/wind-swept-task-force-set-the-rules/From Part 3 – On Wind-Required New Transmission Lines Finally, the building of enormous, high-voltage transmission lines that the regional electricity system operator says are required to move substantial amounts of wind power to markets south of Maine was never even discussed by the task force – an omission that Mills said will come to haunt the state.“If you try to put 2,500 or 3,000 megawatts in northern or eastern Maine – oh, my god, try to build the transmission!” said Mills. “It’s not just the towers, it’s the lines – that’s when I begin to think that the goal is a little farfetched.” https://www.pinetreewatchdog.org/flaws-in-bill-like-skating-with-dull-skates/
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Hannah Pingree on the Maine expedited wind law
Hannah Pingree - Director of Maine's Office of Innovation and the Future
"Once the committee passed the wind energy bill on to the full House and Senate, lawmakers there didn’t even debate it. They passed it unanimously and with no discussion. House Majority Leader Hannah Pingree, a Democrat from North Haven, says legislators probably didn’t know how many turbines would be constructed in Maine."
https://pinetreewatch.org/wind-power-bandwagon-hits-bumps-in-the-road-3/
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